The Elegance of Shakchunni
- Kunal Konar
- Dec 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 22, 2025
(শাঁখচুন্নীর সৌন্দর্য)
Author and Painter: Sinchan Paul
Contact: kalamkaripaintings@gmail.com
There is a particular kind of silence that dwells within the hollows of a Banyan tree—a silence that breathes. It is here, amidst the intersection of memory and myth, that she resides.
In my latest work, ‘The Elegance of Shakchunni,’ I have sought to exhume the figure of the spectral bride from the annals of folk-horror and re-clothe her in a dignity befitting her eternal vigil. She is often dismissed as a mere phantom of the marshes, yet in the porcelain curve of her wrist—adorned with the elegant white shakha—lies a narrative of interrupted grace, a narrative of a betrothed soul.
The Composition
I chose to render her not as a creature of fright, but as a study in liminality. She exists in the 'in-between':
The Shadow-Play: Where the ink of the night bleeds into the silver of the moon.
The Raiment: Translucent fabrics that mimic the shifting mists of the Bengal delta, suggesting a form that is both present and vanishing.
The Pathos: A gaze that does not haunt the viewer, but rather invites them to share in a centuries-old solitude.
She is the personification of biraha—the ache of separation—distilled into a single, shimmering silhouette. She is the poetry of the unreturned, wandering through the corridors of the ancient and the overgrown.
"The dead do not return to frighten us; they return because they have forgotten how to leave."
Style/Genre of Painting: Kalighat Pata Chitra
Medium: Acrylic on Paper
Brief Profile of the Artist
I am Sinchan Paul. By profession I am a Mechanical Engineer. I am an analytics consultant, proficient in social listening, competitive intelligence, account management, client experience and brand strategy. Experienced in analysing large data sets, converting it into compelling and actionable insights to inform key business and product decisions. I was graduated in BE (Mechanical Engineer) from Anna University in 2014. Thereafter I have been working in the industry in various capacities like Solution Sales/Consultant, HoD-Presales, Presales Manager, Senior Analyst, Managed Service Consultant and Process Associates. Along with my day-to-day professional work, I am also a passionate artist. And I have decided to pursue the Kalamkari Art Form.
The artist also teaches painting to kids and older enthusiasts physically based in Whitefield Bengaluru and may be contacted at: kalamkaripaintings@gmail.com
~~ Promoter and Publisher: Kunal Konar
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